The Distance Between Us

You guys, this book gave me ALL the feels. I felt so depressed about so many things, happy about so many things, and the love scenes gave me all the mushy feelings. Not gonna lie, I was a little worried about all the hype and the plot, but it exceeded my expectations.
What I loved most about this

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book was the realism of it.The situation Caymen and Xander are in is a very real life situation. Especially in today's society. It breaks my heart that there are really people that have simple concerns about this kind of thing in their love life. As my mother drilled into me for as long as I can remember, "you can't help who you love. It shouldn't matter about gender, race, society class, or any of that stuff. All that matters is that you're happy." You may not have many things in common, but if that person makes you happy and you feel that they can continue that, why short yourself because of something that small. *gets off soapbox*
Anyways, on to Xander. Gah, be still my heart! He is someone that thinks like me. Love whoever you want. And he did it all with no worries or regrets. He just let it happen. And he was so swoony the entire time. I found myself rooting for him since the very beginning. I have found a new book boyfriend for sure.
I actually didn't like Caymen though. She had so many assumptions and what felt like regrets about everything. I honestly got a little tired of her dry humor too. Sometimes it wasn't exactly funny, just eye-roll worthy.
But when you put the two of them together, I fell in love with Caymen and Xander. They made the cutest couple and their love felt so real. It didn't feel rushed or anything, it just went at the perfect pace. Especially with so many of the things they had telling them not to be together.
Although there were some things that bothered me about this story, I know they were necessary. Without those things, the story would really be nonexistent. So with that being said, the flaws in this one helped it to become such a great read.

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Once I started this story, I knew it was over for me. It was exactly what I needed.

Characters: What really drew me to the story were the characters themselves. The main character Caymen is very down to earth and outspoken. I loved her outlook on life and how hard she work. Zander on the other hand

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has a few things that drew me to him too. Like his looks and funny comments. Even though both characters are different, they each have something that they can learn from one another.

Plot: Plot wise this story had it all. Great secrets, love and a good build up to the ending. As the reader, it held me firmly in the story experiencing everything the characters are. I really love how the plot pointed out clearly the two worlds or point of views these characters each came from. The author did a great job in building it so that the reader can understand the distance.

Distance: Do you know the most common fight between couples is money? Yes, money may be able to buy you everything yet it always leaves you lacking. No real love, no real friends and of course money changes you. You think about your status, your clothes, everything. This story painted an excellent world in which money and stats are who you are.

The Distance Between Us is an excellent story that deeply affects the reader. Writing an excellent story driving towards a profound ending, The Distance Between Us is great!

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The Distance Between Us was pitched as Pride and Prejudice meets Pretty in Pink and I've never seen Pretty in Pink but Pride and Prejudice so...whatevs. I obviously needed this. And then can we take a moment to look at that COVER? Like...her dress! Her shoes! His outfit! The car! The hand holding!

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The lighting! The font! It's so utterly gorgeous and very road trip-esque and it still stands out quite a bit. I'm so utterly in love and kind of want to buy a bajillion copies just so I can surround myself in that beauty.

I loved Caymen. I really, really did. Kasie West created this heroine who was straight forward with their reader, if not with everyone else. She was wonderfully sarcastic, no holding back. It was very easy to relate to her situation and how she felt. And it was so understandable why she would be wary of Xander. But he was such a sweetheart and so good and just genuinely liked Xander. I loved his quirky family - especially his grandma.

I really just loved the plot of the story. Was it a little on the cheesy side? Yeah. But it made me giggly and happy and I just wanted to cuddle the book. There's a lot of harp on how YA has so much romance and why must there be so much romance, but usually the romance is a subplot, even if it seems overwhelming. But The Distance Between Us is a romance. It wasn't desperately aching to be anything else. It was very Stephanie Perkins'-esque in that it was cute and fluffy but also had some heavy tones to it. And it was largely romance-centric. Truly romance-centric books aren't that common in YA...at least what I've seen. And they're perfect for summer time.

Now that I've raved about...the cover and lack of true romances in YA, the take away from this review should really be you need The Distance Between Us. Go my friends. Go get the book. Or click over to your book-shopping website of choice and order it ASAP.

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Read this straight through in four hours. Fun story, quick read.m

Kasie West debuted earlier this year, and she's pretty much one of my favorite authors already. She excels at characters and romances. Basically, her books make my heart oh so happy. The Distance Between Us has a little bit in common with Pivot Point, but is largely a departure from the much more

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serious tone of that series. The Distance Between Us is fluffy good times of the highest order.

To figure out if you would enjoy The Distance Between Us, ask yourself if you like the following things: Pretty in Pink and The Gilmore Girls. If you answered yes to one or both, then you should probably make reading this book a priority. If you haven't seen them, then you should probably rectify that AND THEN read this book. If you don't like either one, well, GOOD DAY SIR.

Caymen, whose name is never explained, which is to me the biggest flaw of the book, is my girl. Seriously, she is acerbic and sarcastic like you would not even believe. I imagine that some readers will be rubbed the wrong way by her attitude, but it was like coming home. People never know if she's serious or joking, because she always says things with a straight face. Also, she cannot resist answering a stupid question with an especially sarcastic response, and, oh, how I love her for it.

Here's where things get quirky. Caymen works in a doll store, owned by her mother. Dolls and More barely pays the bills, and Caymen has been raised to hate the privileged, like the man who left her mother. As such, Caymen is disgusted when this obviously rich guy comes into the store and beckons to her, as he talks on the phone. His outfit alone would probably pay expenses for her and her mom for a month. He also happens to be kind of cute, but, ugh, so stuch up and rich.

Of course, that's not all there is to it, because cute, rich boy (Xander) comes back. The relationship between these two is super sweet, especially because all of their problems coming together are really internal aside from her mom being iffy on her dating a rich boy. However, otherwise, the only obstacle really is Caymen's trust issues, which are pretty mighty. Xander definitely becomes a candidate for best book boyfriends, because he is so considerate, doesn't overreact, and apologizes when he's been out of line. There's a lot of bonding and banter here, and, though they do get serious, it feels real and not like forever love; maybe it will last and maybe it won't.

Social classes and economic disparity are central to The Distance Between Us, which is pretty great. Caymen's poor, like shops at thrift stores because she has to poor. There's an incredibly adorable moment where Caymen takes Xander there because his clothes are too nice for a particular outing. The treatment of some of it's a bit idealized, since most of the discomfort about her economic status comes from her. However, Caymen does have some insulting friends, like the ones that show up in Pretty in Pink. Anyway, I really appreciate that West chose a heroine who's not in the upper or middle classes.

On top of that, West, like in Pivot Point, does a fantastic job building out the supporting cast. There's a healthy female best friendship depicted between Caymen and Skye, who couldn't be more different, but love and support each other endlessly. Skye's boyfriend, Henry, who initially is kind of weird and didn't mesh with Caymen or me, turns out to be a sweetie and hilarious. Xander and Caymen's families both are well built as well. I love that West doesn't skimp out on the supporting cast. I love it so much.

When you find yourself in need of a fluffy, happy-making read, look no further than The Distance Between Us. With well-developed characters, snappy dialogue and abundant humor, Kasie West's novels are must reads for me.

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Gilmore Girls. That's the only thing this story made me think of. In a great way. But so many similarities. If I had to cast this book I would just drop the entire Gilmore girls cast in, as is.

A short super cute witty and charming read.

I read through a lot of reviews after reading this book, and I am amazingly shocked that no one has mentioned the similarities between this book and This is What Happy Looks Like by Jennifer E. Smith. I was kind of distracted for most of the beginning trying to remember who I was reading about -

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Ellie and Graham (poor girl; rich, famous guy; beach town; girl helps run single mother's store; daddy-abandonment issues; movie star old girlfriend; boy not happy with where his life is going; girl who wants to go to college but can't afford it...), or Caymen and Xander (poor girl; rich, famous guy; beach town; girl helps run single mother's store; daddy-abandonment issues; movie star old girlfriend; boy not happy with where his life is going; girl who wants to go to college but can't afford it...). However, I loved This is What Happy Looks Like , and once I got past the confusion and started to feel these characters, I really liked this one, too. I was disappointed in a few things (one kiss was a little too passionate, and everything wrapped up a little too neatly at the end), but all in all I really liked it. A fun, fluffy read.

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Ladies and gentlemen, Kasie West has done it again!



So here’s how this goes: girl lives above doll store and works in said store. Girl’s wit is exceptional. Rich boy holds his own with girl. Boy seeks out girl. Boy and girl’s “friendship” blooms. Oblivious adorableness ensues. Girl is

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confused. Misconceptions abound–can Caymen and Xander figure it all out?



Let me just say this right now: Caymen is hands down one of THE coolest characters I have ever read about.



I WANT TO BE YOUR BEST FRIEND.



She has the driest sarcasm and sharpest wit, I was laughing out loud through every page! And her name is Caymen–so. cool. Throw in Xander, hot rich boy who can’t seem to stay away from Caymen and who can hold his own against her smart mouth and you’ve got a recipe for brilliance. Their banter and his thoughtfulness and her softening heart–SWOONING, I am suh-wooooning!



There’s the whole poor vs rich prejudices that have to be worked through, because on both ends there were instances of snobbery against the opposing perspective–hypocrisy seemed a theme and kept me thinking about how at times each point of view was understandable yet also completely ridiculous.



This was one of those books I opened and never put down–I read it straight through! In fact, I was a bit late for work because I was so close to the end that I couldn’t stop reading until I finished . . .;)



If you haven’t read yourself some Kasie West yet, I implore you to please, pleasepleaseplease do yourself a favor and go pick up one of her books because you will NOT be disappointed;) And look at that adorable cover! This was a fun and light and lovable read!



5/5 STARS;)

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I really liked Kasie West’s debut, Pivot Point. However, I LOVED The Distance Between Us, and honestly, if I had read this book first, I might have rated Pivot Point slightly lower. This contemporary YA that’s a bit different but still sweet is where West’s writing really shines. I’m trying

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not to compare and contrast Pivot Point and The Distance Between Us too much, but at some point, it really can’t be helped. It was a bit of a shocker for me to like this book more than I did, and especially more than Pivot Point–after all, Pivot Point is about parallel universes, which I LOVE, and The Distance Between Us is contemporary, which isn’t always my first choice. But if I read more contemporary like this, I think I’d like it a lot more.

Caymen is one of my favorite main characters I’ve read this year. She and I have a very similar sense of humor–very sarcastic, very dry–and I’d want to be her friend in real life. She’s not flawless, and one of her major character flaws is that she’s incredibly quick to jump to conclusions, which causes some problems in the book, but she’s well-developed and such an interesting character to read. Caymen isn’t from a rich or even middle-class background, and I applaud West for showing a single family that’s rather poor but NOT showing them to be abusive, psychologically damaged, etc. Also, Caymen is a female main character who is interested in science, and you have no idea how happy that makes me! Personally, I am not a science person, BUT for a long time I have wanted female characters who like science. I think if YA is suppose to a portrayal of adolescence FOR adolescents, it would be nice to have FEMALE characters who are interested in science & math because so often society likes to draw lines that girls aren’t as good as science and math as boys(or something? Where do we come up with this?) It’s just so refreshing to see that Caymen likes science.

XandEr is one of my favorite fictional boys in a long time. Like Caymen, he’s not perfect, but he’s genuinely just a nice person and really cares for Caymen. Their relationship is awesome because it holds no traces of insta-love, but really just starts out as a cute friendship and evolves from there. It’s a nice slow, steady momentum-building relationship. They’re both attracted for each other but don’t start a relationship right away because of their past experiences and they both have quite a bit of responsibility.

At heart, the plot of this book is very Pride and Prejudice-like, which made me like it even more. I really liked how on the rare occasion Xander’s parents enter the story, they’re both polite and sweet, and West does a good job of not vilifying the rich by making them all snobby OR vilifying the poor by portraying all the families as abusive. The Distance Between Us keeps a very even view of social classes and acknowledging the barriers that do arise without making it over-dramatic as some stories are want to do.

Final Impression: I LOVED this book! It was really well-done and different, while still keeping to a traditional story like Pride and Prejudice with a modern spin. I loved Caymen and would want to hang out with her in real life. I found the characters in this story so life-like and refreshing, as West did a terrific job of staying away from most stereotypes and incorporating unique situations–like the fact that Caymen’s mother owns a porcelain doll shop. I expected to like this book, but I didn’t think I’d end up liking it SO much. It’s definitely on the lighter side(while still bringing issues of poverty and social class), and it’s a great summer read.

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That's got to be one of (or the) wittiest female protagonist I've ever read in a novel. There wasn't even one exchange that wasn't sarcastic and/or funny.

While it reminded me a lot of This is What Happy Looks Like by Jennifer E. Smith (in no way as good haha) I still found myself devouring it in a day. It was just one of those books that once started, wouldn't leave your hand until it was done. For me, girly contemporary books were never my thing

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growing up. I loved fantasy the best, in books and films. But then I picked up a Sarah Dessen book and my likes changed from then, I had a new found appreciation for contemporary books and even though I have found some stinkers a long the way, I'm happy to say that I have found hidden gems too, The Distance Between Us being one of them.

For me, Caymen was not a hard character to like at all. Her sarcasm and dry humour made me warm to her instantly (my partner is the most sarcastic so and so you will ever meet and I guess you could say that being with him has in a way dulled my reaction to sarcasm) and I really liked how she would go out of her to do things that she didn't want to do because it would make things easier on her mum. Xander on the other hand was a character that I didn't love straight away but one who ended up being my favourite. The first time he and Caymen met I thought he was just an arrogant stuck up rich kid with too much money and time on his hands (not so much different to what Caymen though haha) but then when you start to see past those layers and realises he is the way he is because its all he's ever known, that its his parents that have all the money and he wants different things to his parents.

I loved the relationship between Caymen and Xander, it built up over time instead of being there one minuet. I've read too many YA contemporary books where the characters are at each others throat one minuet and madly in love the next without any real development. But in The Distance Between Us, Caymen and Xander take their time to get to know one another. And while it is obviously a love story, it doesn't centre around the romance, its about both Caymen and Xander trying to better themselves and just being lucky enough to find love in the process.

The only thing I did not like about this book was the ending, I just thought the book would have been so much better if what happened didn't. I might be the only one who thinks it, but like I said, I just think the book would have been better off without it.

If you couldn't already tell, I loved this book. The characters were well thought out and it made me want to vomit with how sweet and gushy it was a times. It had me smiling from ear to ear and reminded me of some of my favourite books (in a good way). It is without a doubt worth a read for those who have a thing for contemporary, or if you are like how I was, it wouldn't be a bad book to start of with :)

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The novel The Distance Between Us starts off with the main character Caymen Meyers at a porcelain- doll shop that her mom owns. A rich boy named Xander Spence walks in which Caymen thinks is unusual. After they met at the doll store they talk more and more and then start to hangout and go places

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together. Caymen hides him from her mom because her mom thinks rich boys aren’t trustworthy because Cayman's dad ran away when her mom had her. So, now Cayman and her mom live at the doll store and there really poor. Throughout the book Cayman and Xander have this relationship were there more then friends but not dating. Then Cayman's mom has to go to the hospital and after 17 years of not seeing her parents her parents come and Cayman gets to meet her grandparents. At the end Cayman and Xander have an official relationship and her mom approves of it.
Overall, what I thought of the book was it was a good interesting book. It was also well written. I could just predict they were going to be together at the end way too much. I thought it was way to obvious. I also don’t think the author didn’t have to drag out the story as much as she did just because by the middle of the book I wanted it to be over.

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This book was exactly what I thought it would be; a nice book for young adults about relationships; college and the future; family dynamics and dilemmas about following your own dreams or your parents' footsteps.

Seventeen-year old Caymen is witty,poor and original with an amazing talent for

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sarcasm. Xander, on the other hand is handsome, charming and beyond rich. And then the two meet...
Nice writing and witty dialogues make it a fast and enjoyable read.

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The Distance Between Us by Kasie West is about Caymen Meyers, a teen girl whose dad left her when she was little. It's just been her and her mom living with little to no money above a doll store since then. Caymens dad was rich, so her mom made her believe that all rich guys weren't worth her time.

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Until Xander walked into the doll store. He was sweet and charming and everything Caymen didn't want him to be. Throughout the story they fell in love while Caymen avoids the subject with her mom. Eventually the truth comes out, but this doesn't do nearly as much damage as some more shocking news, will this news destroy Caymen and Xander, or will this just make them stronger?
This story was very good, the author built Caymen and Xander's relationship so perfectly. She made the plot revolve around their relationship which made the book way better than I thought it'd be, I recommend this book for 7-9th graders. I recommend it for these grades because it is a little inappropriate for younger than 7th grade but maybe a little too childish for over a 9th grader. It's plot and the development of Caymen and Xander's relationship made this book very good.

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Rich Guy and Poor Girl. Sounds like your typical romance novel, doesn’t it? And yet Kasie West makes it so different.

This was such a cute and fluffy book! It’s definitely a very quick read and one that’ll definitely get you out of a reading slump.

What makes this book different from others

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with the same premise is the wonderful characters. Each character in this book is a breath of fresh air. Caymen, with her dry humour and personality is totally relatable. I’m not rich, and I definitely know what it’s like living with your single mother and getting by. Caymen doesn’t let this affect her personality. She’s still an independent and headstrong girl.

“So Caymen..."
"So, Xander..."
"Like the islands."
"What?"
"Your name. Caymen. Like the Cayman Islands. Is that your mom's favourite place to visit or something?"
"No, it's her third favourite place. I have an older brother named Paris and an older sister named Sydney."
"Wow." He opens the bag, takes out a muffin, and hands it to me. The top glistens with sprinkled sugar. "Really?"
I gently unwrap it. "No.”

I really loved Xander as a love interest! He was so understanding. Yeah, he was rich, but that didn’t make him snobby at all. He took Caymen’s humour and delivered it right back to her. Can I get a Xander? I need someone to have sarcastic and witty conversations with!

The reason Xander & Caymen had such an adorable romance was because they both ignored their backgrounds and decided to know each other personally. Yes, Caymen had her doubts at first (because of his money), but Xander had no qualms about proving her wrong whenever he could. He showed her that he liked her for who she was!

I also really liked Caymen’s relationship with her mother because it seemed very genuine. They were great friends and yet their relationship developed and grew throughout the book. Caymen also had a great friendship with Skye, her eccentric best friend.

My only complaint about this book is the fact that it seemed a little bit rushed at the end. I would've enjoyed a more fleshed-out ending.

Overall, a great, fluffy, contemporary romance. It’ll leave you giddy and happy and wanting to devour anything else Kasie West writes.

“This is me facing failure. This is me putting everything on the line even though I know I might lose. And I'm terrified. But like you said, anything worth having is worth the risk.”

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Light, easy reading.

A fun twist on a classic Cinderella story.

Loved this!

Caymen Meyers spends most of her life in the building that houses her mother's porcelain doll shop. Either downstairs in the actual shop working or upstairs in their apartment. It's lead to a slightly different life for the seventeen-year-old.

from the publisher's synopsis:
""Seventeen-year-old

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Caymen Meyers studies the rich like her own personal science experiment, and after years of observation she’s pretty sure they’re only good for one thing—spending money on useless stuff, like the porcelain dolls in her mother’s shop.

So when Xander Spence walks into the store to pick up a doll for his grandmother, it only takes one glance for Caymen to figure out he’s oozing rich. Despite his charming ways and that he’s one of the first people who actually gets her, she’s smart enough to know his interest won’t last. Because if there’s one thing she’s learned from her mother’s warnings, it’s that the rich have a short attention span. But Xander keeps coming around, despite her best efforts to scare him off. And much to her dismay, she's beginning to enjoy his company.""

The relationship is one -- even as a friendship -- that Caymen knows her mother wouldn't approve of. Her mother may make her money from people with money, but she does not like people; something of which she's never failed to remind Caymen.

But when Xander seems about ready to convince Caymen taht being rich might not be his downfall after all, she finds out money was more a part of things than she knew.

The Distance Between Us is a really cute contemporary romance. Caymen is a great main character who has not only an original set-up in living above a shop selling porcelain dolls, but she's also original in her character. I love her sense of humor
"A lot of people don't get my sense of humor. My mom calls it dry humor. I think that means, 'no funny,' but it also means I'm the only one who ever knows it's a joke." [pg 3]
and that it's actually present throughout the book and works. We don't just get one or two lines in the beginning or Caymen stating that she has a dry sense of humor, she really does. It makes for some fantastically awkward moments as well as some really funny ones. It also makes her different in a way that actually is different. (As opposed to all of the 'different' characters that are so similar they're becoming their own norm.)

In the beginning, there were times that Caymen was a bit reminiscent of Addie from West's earlier novel Pivot Point but that evaporated as the novel progressed. They may have had a similar voice or it may only have been two teenage girls from the same author. The stories did not feel similar.

The interactions between Caymen and Xander were great, right from the beginning. West has them interact in a very believable way. Assumptions and preconceived notions are all present. They don't immediately become different people, characters. Nor are they illogically combative. It's all very real seeming.

That reality is part of what creates the chemistry and has the reader rooting for things to work out, for the differences to be ironed out.

Towards the end there were a few, relatively, minor things that I would have liked to see resolved or explained just a little more. They weren't crucial to the main story but it still felt like those things were left hanging and unresolved.

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Were these characters seventeen or thirty? I never really felt that these were kids in high school. It made it hard to connect the characters to the story at times. I think I would have actually liked this more if they were older.

This also ended quickly. I feel so much more could have happened

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towards the end. I felt that Caymen meeting her grandparents was rushed, and there was no closure on Caymens mother.

Overall, this was a typical cute Kasie West read, but not my favorite. It was ok.

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This was such a sweet, feel-good romance with a wonderful mix of characters. I loved Caymen as a narrator with her dry humour and continual sarcasm, while Zander was the perfect Prince Charming. Thanks for recommending it to me, Fiona, It was a terrific read, and teenage girls will love it.

Caymen is feeling a little trapped in her life when she meets Zander, who is everything her mother has warned her against. Coming from different economic backgrounds, the two nevertheless find themselves attracted to each other. One theme I thought resonated with this book is looking beyond the

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surface. Caymen discovers that not everything is the way it looks and often things are better than she thought.

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Series Info/Source: Stand Alone, borrowed audiobook from Audible Escapes.

Audiobook Quality (4/5): I enjoyed the narration of this audiobook a lot. They picked the perfect narrator for this, Marie sounds just like I think Caymen would. Marie also does a great job with other character voices. This

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was a very pleasant audiobook to listen to.

Story (4/5): The story is a pretty typical YA contemporary romance with a bit of a twist. Caymen starts to hang out with a “rich kid” who is the grandson of one of their customers but struggles with how she will fit into that “rich” world when her and her mom are so broke. There are some fun twists as the story continues and I enjoyed these little surprises, they made this romantic and entertaining story a bit more special.

Characters (5/5): The characters are what make this book. Caymen is easy to relate to; she is struggling between supporting her mom and trying to make her own way. Watching her tear herself between all her responsibilities can be tough but I loved her as a character. I also loved Xander, he was just a fun characters and so sweet. Even the side characters were really well done, from Caymen’s mom to her best friend. These are characters that were fun, easy to relate and very charming. I was a bit sad about how stubborn and selfish Caymen’s mom was about forcing her own past and believes onto Caymen.

Setting (4/5): This is in a contemporary setting in California. A lot of the story is set in Caymen’s mom’s dollstore. I enjoyed the dollstore setting it was quirky and fun and a bit creepy at times too. This unique background provided some fun and style of the story.

Writing/Drawing Style (4/5): I always love Kasie West’s writing style. It sounds natural, flows well, is easy to read, and is perfectly paced. I have no complaints, West’s writing is very easy to read and she’s a solid writer.

Summary (4/5): Overall this was a cute and entertaining YA contemporary romance that I enjoyed. It’s one of those feel good, first love types of stories. All the characters were very likable and easy to engage with. I enjoyed some of the extra little twists to the story. I would recommend if you are looking for a light and fun YA contemporary romance read.

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I really enjoyed this fun quick read. The more I read of Kasie West the more I enjoy. I did think the ending was a little rush which is why I didn't give 5 stars. I would have liked more of Caymen's grandarents and to see their reunion with their daughter. I also really enoye the secondary

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characters in this one. I'd love a book with more Henry and Mason! Overall fun book that I would recommend!

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